Have you ever thought about what motivates you to do… or to not do, something? What are your core value(s), the ‘why’ of what you do and speak that is challenged, threatened, or affirmed – the how and what of your response?
Simplistically, motivators can be good, bad, healthy, self destructive, self serving or selfless and probably a great number of other things as well. And do remember that this list, nonexhaustive, is also not necessarily incompatible. Two seemingly contrary motivators may coexist dependent upon the ‘issue’.
There would be those that would argue that all behavior is basically self preservation. Personally I find that too simplistic an answer because there are countless examples of people who do amazing things and demonstrate great courage – often at their own peril. It could be argued that an altruistic value motivates in these cases.
If you are an adherent of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs then you obviously would take the position that what may motivate you today may not motivate you tomorrow. True. But I would ask if there is some overriding value that is greater than need, greater than self?
The question becomes: do we know why it is we do or say what we do, when we do it?
